U.s. Not Rushing Trial For 3 In Killing Of Navy Diver In Hijacking

September 26, 1985|By New York Times

WASHINGTON — U.S. officials have identified the three men suspected of having killed a young Navy diver aboard a hijacked Trans World Airlines plane in Beirut last June, but they say they are reluctant to take steps to bring them to trial.

The three are wanted not only for the hijacking but for the killing of the Navy man, Robert Dean Stethem, who was a passenger on the flight. Thirty-nine Americans were held hostage for 17 days after the hijacking.

Among the reasons the United States has been constrained from trying to gain custody of the suspects, the officials said, is the fear that such an attempt might complicate efforts to obtain the release of six Americans still in Lebanon.

The suspects were identified as Ali Younis, Ahmed Gharbieh and Ali Atwi, and were said to be members of a militant Shiite group that calls itself the Imam Hussein Brigade. Officials said the names might be aliases.

They said that the suspects are believed to be connected with those who are holding the six Americans. A seventh, the Rev. Benjamin M. Weir, a Presbyterian missionary, was released Sept. 14.

While a federal grand jury continues to hear evidence in the Stethem shooting from officials of the Justice Department and FBI, the suspects have been described in Beirut as being treated like heroes.

Under international practice, the United States must obtain an indictment from a grand jury before requesting extradition. An indictment is expected to be issued soon.

Ali Younis and Ahmed Gharbieh were said to have been the two men who hijacked the TWA plane after boarding in Athens. One of them is suspected of having shot Stethem, who was on his way home from Greece.

Ali Atwi, the officials said, was arrested at Athens airport after the hijacking, but he was allowed to join the two others in Algiers in exchange for Greek passengers aboard the plane.